Carving (y)our way out.
“Man is always prey to his truths. Once he has admitted them, he cannot free himself from them.” -Albert Camus
The premise for the forthcoming slew of wisdom wrapped in “The Allegory of the Cave” by Plato has been set, so here I am providing you the tools but are you willing to use them?
The allegory of the cave is a short excerpt from the beginning of book seven of Plato’s book, The Republic. Socrates is the main character in The Republic, and he is in conversation with his interlocutor, Glaucon to whom he says,
“Next, said I [= Socrates], compare our nature in respect of education and its lack to such an experience as this.”
Socrates paints a grim picture of prisoners who have been shackled to a wall from birth in a way that prevents physical mobility. The only way for them to perceive the world is to encounter the things that happen right in front of their faces. A fire lit behind them casts a glow on the wall facing them. There’s a low wall between the fire and the prisoners. A walkway has been built at a certain height used by people who carry objects up and down. The shadows cast by the objects on the wall facing the prisoners transmutes into the prisoners’ lived reality.
The extraordinary circumstances in which the prisoners dwell afford no room of doubt that for them, the reality is the projection of shadows on the wall, making man a product of his circumstances and immediate environment. Interestingly, a power dynamic takes root as each prisoner tries to convince the others of his version of a distorted reality.
Socrates hammers sense by pulling out one nail off the coffin of truth. The narrative takes an interesting turn when one prisoner is unshackled and experiences excruciating discomfort and agony when he catches sight of fire for the first time. Since man is a slave to habit and comfort, the prisoner denies the existence of fire and conceives of it as less real as compared to the shadows cast on the wall. It’s only natural for a man to retreat to a world that makes sense, even if it’s a lie.
However, if someone were to drag him into broad daylight and force him to face the sun, how would he act then?
Well.
He will resist. He will rage. He will fight.
Once his eyes are forced open, he will gradually get used to the shadows, the reflections, and eventually, he will be able to look at the source of the light, the sun. The urge to liberate oneself from mental slavery forces one to accept the true nature of things, the precondition to which is that someone ought to force him to experience it for himself. The person who forces the prisoner out of the dungeon and guides him can be seen as a teacher. Socrates compares the teacher to a midwife, as she does not give birth for the person but guides her through labor and aids her in giving birth. Similarly, a teacher can only act as a guide to the student. It’s ultimately on the student to take action and acquire knowledge.
A constant brush with the truth overrides an undercurrent of deception that lends this situation a tone of existential helplessness. When the veil lifts, the prisoner faces an internal struggle to retreat to the hallowed palace of ignorance, but once he has made peace with the truth, he evokes a sense of pity for his fellow mates who are living under the rock. He is overcome by choice either to let them be happy in their current state or to let truth rob their mental peace.
Socrates introduces the last stage of liberation, which goes beyond the individual and permeates into the community. When one evades physical and mental slavery, he is, but compelled to rescue those who are suffering the same fate as his previous self.
But the question is, at what cost will this liberation come?
Will he be able to convince them. If so, how?
Or
Will, it cost him his life?
Truth can’t be digested and a lie shall never be.
There’s only one way to bring light that is by sharing the forbidden fruit of knowledge with everyone for only those who have tasted it can testify when the world chokes on its ignorance.
